A number of world personalities have been named in the Panama Papers. Top row, left to right: Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, former Uefa president Michel Platini and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bottom row: Former prime minister of Iceland Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, Emirati President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Argentina and Barcelona footballer Lionel MessiAFP/Reuters

A number of world personalities have been named in the Panama Papers. Top row, left to right: Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, former Uefa president Michel Platini and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bottom row: Former prime minister of Iceland Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, Emirati President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Argentina and Barcelona footballer Lionel MessiAFP/ReutersSimon Cowell (L) and Jackie Chan are among those named in the Panama Papers leakGettyIconic film director Stanley Kubrick pictured in 1971Getty

They sound like names out of a sci-fi movie but "Dragon Stream", "Galaxy Nights" and "Starflights" have made headlines in recent days in the unfolding drama of the Panama Papers leak and the opaque world of tax arrangements. They are in fact among a series of fanciful names for shell companies that have been used by the world's rich and powerful to stash away wealth in offshore tax havens.

The Mossack Fonseca leak has revealed how a Panamanian law firm helped set up a massive network of tens of thousands of companies in sunny and exotic destinations such as the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Bahamas, Bermuda and the Seychelles.

In addition, the scandal has also unearthed a wide spectrum of esoteric terms used by the firm's clients – which included former and current heads of state, billionaires, politicians and celebrities – to identify their offshore vehicles. Some hint at their owners' boundless ambition or overconfidence, like Supreme Victory Enterprises linked to the brother-in-law of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Deng Jiagui, or Lionel Messi's Mega Star Enterprises.

Others simply hint at a direct link to a particular individual or family members, like Jackie Chan's Jackie Chan Ltd, or the trio Anya K Holdings Ltd, Vivian K Holdings Ltd, and Katharina K Holdings Ltd, named by film director Stanley Kubrick after his three daughters. A few hide more cryptic messages, like Sonnette (French for bell) Overseas of Putin's associate Sergei Roldugin, a cellist.

Below is a roll call of some of the companies so far featured in the data leak alongside the names of individuals alleged to be directly or indirectly linked to them. Holding offshore companies and accounts is not inherently illegal but they can be used to hide assets from the taxman or to launder money from illicit sources. Mossack Fonseca denies any wrongdoing.

Around 11.5 million documents have been leaked from Panamanian law firm Mossack FonsecaiStock